First Visit to Jiangsu Garden Expo Park – Su Yun Hui Gu (3)

Travel mode: self-driving

Travel time: November 2021, January 2022

Attraction: Jiangsu Garden Expo Park

Address: northeast of the intersection of Husheng Road and Hufa Road, Jiangning District, Nanjing

Route: Scenic Area’s Beianmen – Nantong Garden – Lianyungang Garden – Yancheng Garden

After days of rain, this weekend morning was still overcast. Suddenly there was a feeling of clearing up. We, who had been cooped up and hadn’t gone out, suddenly decided to head to the Garden Expo Park. With an annual pass, we should make the most of it and enjoy the park in detail! It was a familiar route; 20 minutes brought us to the parking lot at Beianmen. Across from the parking lot, the Treasure Museum under construction was more complete than before but not yet open.

Heading south, this area is the Garden Expo Village VOCO Hotel with mainly grey bricks, still under construction.

The Garden Expo Village area is a supporting dining zone outside the park, gathering various dining and accommodation options.

The area with white letter fences marks the inner part of the park.

With mountains as a backdrop, the large lawn blending yellow and green in late autumn exuded a fresh scent after the rain. That white, curved building is the tourist service center at Beianmen.

A few industrial relics of cement pillars have now been transformed into a cable car station.

Red aerial cable cars passed leisurely overhead.

The trees on the lawn each had their own distinctive shapes, their colors even richer and more vibrant in autumn.

Tall phoenix trees were brilliantly golden in late autumn, a real sight to behold.

On the hilltop, the Cloud Pool Dream Valley viewing platform looked like a pair of big eyes surveying the scenic area.

Elements of the mine park, now everywhere, serve as great backdrops for posed photos.

Flower-scented small train station

Two railway tracks extend and converge. These narrow-gauge rails were once the 'lifeline' of Tangshan's industrial development, when small trains ran daily between the China Cement Factory and the mines in Tangshan, carrying heavy loads of stone. This industrial heritage has been preserved, and the narrow-gauge railway has been converted into a sightseeing line, now a beautiful feature of the park.

No matter the season, there are flowers and plants everywhere in the Garden Expo Park.

A train came slowly rolling by, its red-and-white cars meandering through the park.

This was a vintage-style small train, its locomotive shaped like an old steam engine, giving a sense of traveling through time.

Encountering pavilions, terraces, and towers, the picturesque landscape scrolls of Su Yun Hui Gu area in the Garden Expo Park came into view. This space is the eastern part of Su Yun Hui Gu, representing the coastal urban landscapes of Jiangsu. Su Yun Hui Gu faithfully recreates the most classic garden architecture of Jiangsu’s thirteen cities. I came here with my parents in May or June, visiting Nanjing Garden, Suzhou Garden, Yangzhou Garden... one after another, each a beautiful blend of natural mountains and water with distinctive regional character. With so many gardens, it’s impossible to see them all in one visit. Last time we didn’t deliberately plan a route, just strolled wherever we went. But last time we started from Xiping Gate; this time we entered from Beianmen, exactly beginning from the eastern side. This beautiful open garden is Nantong Garden. A small bridge

Pavilions and towers built following the natural mountain contours.

Rocky hillsides adorned with grass, trees, and flowers.

The fiery red maple leaves in autumn added a touch of warmth to the gray sky today.

Nantong Garden belongs to the 'Coastal Area' of the 'Five Districts and Thirteen Gardens,' its concept inspired by the villa of the industrialist Zhang Jian from the Republic of China period in Nantong—Linxi Abode. The architectural layout references the painting 'Linxi Abode' by the calligrapher and painter Lü Ying from the same period.

The pavilions and long corridors of Nantong Garden undulate with the mountain ridges, like a coiling dragon nestled in the hills.

The main building of Nantong Garden shares the name Linxi Abode with the one in Nantong. Within this upturned-eave pavilion, there’s a boutique fashion store.

The abode is backed by mountains and faces a stream, surrounded by external corridors.

Around the stream, rocky outcrops create a beautiful garden landscape. Trees shade the rocks, and the autumn colors are vibrant.

Constantly changing angles to capture the most beautiful frames.

Autumn is Nanjing’s most charming season. The overwhelmingly expressive colors sweep away the bleakness of autumn, and nature’s brilliance is fully displayed here.

On another rolling hill, a thatched pavilion stands tall.

Entering Beicuiwei Pavilion.

With so many elevation changes in the park, standing at different heights offers views from various angles, each revealing a different kind of beauty. Just like in life, if you change your perspective, you might find better answers and choices.

The gray sky produced different effects.

Every design in the Garden Expo Park is beautiful.

The three city gardens in the coastal area have no clear boundaries; following the terrain, gazing at the beautiful scenery ahead, I kept pressing the shutter.

Shooting and walking, I soon entered another garden area—Lianyungang Garden.

The landscape inspiration for Lianyungang Garden came from the Pingzhu Zen Temple on Huaguo Mountain in Lianyungang.

Inside, layered green corridors, scattered pavilions, rockeries and water features create delightful interest.

Autumn vignettes within the garden.

Lianyungang Garden is situated on higher ground in the northeast corner of the exhibition area. From here, you can see mountains, roads, and cable cars in the sky—a grand land-sea-air spectacle.

On the south side, a circular moon gate frames a picture of scenery within scenery.

Exiting the garden gate, just across a road, stands a massive luxury hotel.

The undulating terrain, rocky rises, murmuring waterfalls, stone paths, and stone bridges—stone elements everywhere—unconsciously led us into Yancheng Garden.

The building 'Hesuo Tanchun' (Crane Lodge Exploring Spring) in the garden features a simple, airy design that blends modern aesthetics with classical architectural elements, expressing a fusion of old and new.

Now it has become a red education base.

Yancheng faces the sea to the east and historically was named for its salt production. Thus, 'salt' elements can be seen everywhere in the garden.

The garden uses natural rock formations and bamboo groves to guide visitors, evoking the mood of 'wandering alone along the fragrant path of a small garden.'

Exiting through the south gate of Yancheng Garden.

This road serves as a natural dividing line.

The hotel on one side of the road.

Further ahead are Nanjing Garden and Zhenjiang Garden. We visited those city gardens last summer, so we didn’t continue this time. I can’t say exactly how many times I’ve been to the Garden Expo Park, but I clearly remember that it took three visits to Su Yun Hui Gu to basically tour all thirteen cities’ distinctive garden displays. The thirteen city exhibition gardens, linked by flowing water, each portraying a city’s unique scenery, bring together the essence of Jiangsu-style landscape gardening. Originally, this area was a slope, cliff, and mud pit created by mining. Now, within this barren cliffside space, thirteen exhibition gardens feature pavilions and towers scattered like stars, adorned with fine trees and slender bamboos, recreating the splendor of Nanjing Garden reminiscent of the imperial gardens of the Six Dynasties in Jinling; Suzhou Garden with the elegant charm of 'Canglang Wenshui'; Zhenjiang Garden echoing the architectural style of Beigu Mountain pavilions... Strolling through, you experience one city, one garden, one story, with every step revealing a new view and a new surprise.

Leaving with satisfaction, just as the crossing gate lowered and a small train passed by.

My gaze followed the small train. As a train lover, I’ve always had an inexplicable fondness for trains.

I watched the train until it entered the station.

The park offers a variety of transportation.

From here we headed to Beianmen to leave. Every visit reveals different scenery. First, the park is vast; each time we can only pick one or two areas to explore. Second, in different seasons, the vegetation changes, giving you a different experience at the same spot. Third, the park is still under development; if you don’t come for a while, new attractions might appear.

Every time I finish a trip to the Garden Expo Park, I have this feeling: I’m already looking forward to the next visit even before leaving.